Stetski lauds election of federal NDP leader

The federal NDP finally have their party leader elected into Parliament.

Jagmeet Singh won a byelection in Burnaby South last week, and will take his seat in the House of Commons to helm the NDP after winning the leadership race in October 2017.

Kootenay-Columbia MP Wayne Stetski, a member of the NDP, says the party had a big celebration last week to welcome Singh to Ottawa in a gathering that included party stalwart Ed Broadbent.

“Really looking forward to having him in the House of Commons,” said Stetski. “I think, as a party, we’ve turned an important corner by having him in the House.”

Stetski says Singh and the federal NDP will continue to focus on advocating policies such as affordable housing, establishing a universal pharmacare program and addressing climate change and protecting the environment.

“He’s going to continue to focus on the things that we all believe are really important to a better Canada,” continued Stetski.

Singh will officially take his seat in the House of Commons on March 18 once Elections Canada officially verifies and validates the vote.

As the party gears up for the federal election in the fall, they will be doing so without two long-time members in the ranks, as Nathan Cullen and Murray Rankin, both B.C. NDP MPs, have announced they won’t see re-election.

Cullen, who has served five electoral terms since 2004, is the MP for Skeena–Bulkley Valley, while Rankin has represented Victoria constituents since 2012.

“Both Murray and Nathan are remarkable people,” said Stetski. “Just a few minutes ago, I was stopped in the hallway by a Conservative MP and we had a conversation about what a tremendous loss both of them are to the House of Commons, in general.

“They’ve been wonderful at representing the people in their ridings, they are great parliamentarians and I’ve told both of them how much I’m going to miss them.”